Gunners poised to welcome fans back

Arsenal will be the first Premier League club to welcome fans in for a competitive fixture since Ma r c h after confirming 2,000 spectators will be allowed in for their Europa League match against Rapid Vienna next Thursday.

The Gunners learned yesterday that the Emirates Stadium is in Tier 2 of the UK G o v e r n m e n t ’s new regionalised approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, and will now be able to welcome fans in for the clash with the Austrian side.

A club statement read: “It’s been almost nine long months since we had fans in attendance at Emirates Stadium and our matches have simply not been the same without you.

“While we appreciate that reduced capacity matches will be far from being ‘ back to normal’, we can’t wait to welcome our fans back home for what will be a historic moment for the club.”

West Ham’s match against Manchester United on December 5 is set to be the first Premier League game with fans in attendance.

The league has released its confirmed televised schedule for the rest of the year, and the Hammers, whose London Stadium is in Tier 2, kick off against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side at 5.30pm on that date.

All the games which precede it – Aston Villa v Newcastle on December 4, Burnley v Everton at 12.30pm and Ma n c h e s t e r City v Fulham on December 5 – are being played in Tier 3 areas.

Brighton, Chelsea, To t t e n h a m and Liverpool are the other teams in Tier 2 areas hosting games that weekend.

The Rugby Football Union will allow 2,000 fans into Twickenham for E n g l a n d ’s final Autumn Nations Cup match on December 6.